R.I.P.

Street Reaper

Brave in the Grave

I’m not a metal head, but sometimes you just need to clear the cobwebs from your brain. At times like that, a healthy does of Motorhead can be a tonic. Heavy guitar riffing hammering my skull like a sledgehammer can knock the excessive verbiage right out of me. Hey, Mister Rock Critic, remember that rock and roll has always been a feral, wild thing at heart. Lemmy is dead, so I’m going to try this debut release from Portland, Oregon’s R.I.P.

R.I.P. identify with the doom rock underground. While a lot of their peers are content to play slow, sludgy dirges to show how doomy they are, R.I.P. still listen to their Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult records. They know that it always helps to actually have a song to hang their tales of death, destruction and darkness on. The title track channels Ozzy from the early days. “The Casket” is sure to get heads banging in dingy clubs across the country and the heavy grind of the “Other Side” promises to pulverize eardrums. The melodic guitar instrumental “The Cross” is there to remind you that these guys really do know how to play. They grind in the gutter because they like it, not because that’s all they know how to do.